Nepal, India discuss revising transit treaty
Kathmandu, April 24: Nepalese and Indian officials began talks here on Tuesday to revise a Transit Treaty allowing a transit facility to Kathmandu through Indian waterways.
A sub-committee level meeting under the Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) kicked off in Kathmandu, reports Xinhua news agency.
The commerce secretary level talks will start on Thursday.
During Nepali Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli's visit to India from April 6 to 8, the two countries issued a joint statement on new connectivity through inland waterways, opening the door for Nepal to reach the sea through waterways for the first time.
If Nepal establishes direct access to the sea through waterways, experts said that it would reduce the cost of doing trade for the landlocked Himalayan nation.
"The two sides are going to discuss on technicalities of incorporating the issue in the Transit Treaty," Rabi Shankar Sainju, joint secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supply, told Xinhua.
"As it is the first time that two sides are discussing on adding waterway as mode of transit facility, we will basically discuss and try to finalize the content to be incorporated in the Treaty."
According to Madhav Belbase, joint secretary at the Water and Energy Commission, Nepal and India might have to form a joint study team to conduct the procedure.
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Three minor sisters die after jumping off ninth-floor in Ghaziabad
Ghaziabad (UP) (PTI): Three minor sisters died after allegedly jumping off the balcony of a ninth-floor flat in Ghaziabad early on Wednesday, police said.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (Shalimar Garden) Atul Kumar Singh said the police received information around 2.15 am about three girls jumping off the balcony of the ninth-floor apartment in a tower of Bharat City, located under the Teela Mor police station area.
On reaching the spot, the police found that the girls -- Nishika (16), Prachi (14) and Pakhi (12) -- daughters of Chetan Kumar, had fallen to the ground floor and suffered fatal injuries, the ACP said.
They were rushed by ambulance to a hospital in Loni, where doctors declared them dead on arrival, he added.
The police have initiated legal formalities and are investigating the circumstances leading to the incident, officials said.
